The Princess Theater

After more than 10 years of effort, the restoration of Harriman's Princess Theater is almost complete.

A rendering by Sparkman and Associates Architects of what the Princess Theater will look like once restoration work is completed. It's as close to its original 1939 appearance as possible.

Harriman Mayor Chis Mason made the restoration of the Princess Theater his primary goal, which he believes will help revitalize Harriman's waning downtown.

Painter Tim Plemons points out the painstaking work required to repaint the auditorium’s ceiling to new theater manager Megan Anderson.

Using postcards of the time, Daniel Cooter of Sparkman & Associates Architects was able to replicate the 1939 paint schemes for the Princess Theater, as originally designed by Joe Vargas.

Architect Frank Sparkman (above) developed therestoration plan for the Princess Theater, which also expanded its performance facilities.

Roane State’s Matt Waters manages Channel 15, a government educational station located in a state-of-the-art studio next door to the Princess and which also serves as a TV lab for students.

The main auditorium of the Princess Theater (seen here with its reconstruction nearly complete) will seat around 700 patrons between the main floor and the balcony; 200 seats were removed to create a performance stage.

The front page of the Nov. 16, 1939 special section in the Harriman Record celebrating the opening of the all-new Princess Theater, which replaced a previous theater that had burned down.